Stargirl Magic

I just finished the second book by Jerry Spinelli about Miss Stargirl Caraway entitled "Love, Stargirl" and though it is not as fabulous as the original, at the moment I am reveling in the magic that is Stargirl. The first book is told from the perspective of an 11th grade boy living in Arizona. Stargirl, who had been home schooled up until now, starts 10th grade at his school and everyone notices. She is unlike any other girl he has ever met. She wears costumes that her mother has made, she carries a ukulele and plays for everyone at lunch time, she has a pet rat she always keeps with her, she creates her own name according to how she is feeling about herself at a particular stage in her life (her birth name is Susan), she really sees people, she performs kind acts for those all around her, and she knows who she is and cares very little for fitting in or being "cool".

Through the first book you see how a force like that interacts with a very typical high school. Do they shun her or follow her? Her sureness about herself makes her both extremely attractive and terribly scary to most of the students at the high school. The second book is told from Stargirl's perspective and though it takes away from her magic (a little), it lets us see more of her. She learns the very important lesson of being in the moment so as to fully live her life. She shows us the value of connecting on a deep level with nature and all the people around us. She shows us that everyone has something beautiful and wonderful to offer the world if we just take the time to get to know them.

I see her as a wonderful role model for all of us, at any age. It takes an extraordinary strength to really be ourselves in this world, at times. Its easy to get so wrapped up in our lives that we miss the beauty of the world around us and the magic that each moment can hold. Even though it's a young adult book I would recommend Stargirl to everyone.